It is not there, it is here in Norway, and a slope i ride 100+ days anyway... SO for me, i am riding regardless.

The slope was sold in part last year and the new part owner is also the GM, and he knows nothing about the industry, although he is very customer service orientated which is not normal here...

I like the idea of being involved in a sport i love, but didn't want to HAVE to do it for work, this gives me the opportunity to have input that will hopefully make the small resort better, while not actually working, which is why it is consultancy rather than employment...

And the other reason is the work, is 4 hours a week that equates to between 16-20 weeks so maximum of 80 hours so not a bad return for doing what i am already doing, for free...

Health and Safety is stupid stuff like riding the staff for badly prepared slopes, parks, not marking flagging, and while riding generally observation and just notifying the liftie to get it addressed over the radio... Park is more about best placing and best use of slopes to include more progressive features for kids moving up, and the grading of parks etc... Not actually building, although they have already started building new features for next season on my advice... And the customer service side of it, is more addressing the contact between the staff they have, lift usage, and knowing how the slopes are used...

It is, as i say a small slope, with 4 main hill but 7 trails and 1 chairlift, but a very interesting small resort, that is full of features... The problem they have is the staff became lazy under previous management, and have been telling the new manager that everything is ok, this issue was addressed with the manager mid season by me, and he asked the staff to make a better job of it, and they didn't, so he simply asked me to do a small video from a particular day and send him it, and he was not impressed by the preparation, so he asked me to make a full list of issues i felt needed addressing from the various things we talked about, and the long and short of it, was when on the end of season staff holiday they where all handed the sheet i had prepared, and it brought to a head what was wrong, most took it badly, but when addressed and discussed by the manager, they saw it didn't mean more work, just working the hours they where paid for and the ability to actually get stuff done whereas the previous manager would just say NO it costs too much...

So we had a meeting after there holiday, and it is all much smoother moving forward and he offered me the consultation from there, which i asked if it would annoy or upset the staff, and it was actually the staffs idea for me to have some input which would mean i can report more directly to the departments involved so they can address as they see fit without GM involvement meaning quicker response times, better safety, more features and improved customer service meaning more income to the slope and for them the ability to negotiate better wages...

They all know it is a long term development and i am really curious to see how much i can learn from them as me teach them in there own field...

I want to learn the piste bashing for park building to better understand the ways parks are constructed, and we have a great park builder, but the maintenance sucks... Anyway, me and him sat down with 2 designs i had for the park and he was really impressed which led to more conversations and the influx of funds to actually build new features, with 2 full time staff through the summer building rails etc which is really cool for everyone...

I don't think it will make me a better snowboarder, but i spend a lot of time on the slope with my 7 year old stepson, and he is wanting to learn, but the availability to learn is fragmented as the park is clearly designed for people that can ride in a park at a higher level, so this is one of the things we are addressing with graded rails clearly visible and different lines for different capabilities, it also pushes all the other kids in the snowboard school as well, who do produce some really good riders, but with them talking to someone who is approachable, it makes for a better school, and the bigger ones, who i know most of also get an input rather than the resort not being approachable...

So i think it is a very good opportunity for me, but i will still call my self retired as i don't consider it an actual job... Haha